Then we thought we should repay the restaurant owner who graciously allows cruisers to tie up at his dock to go to the grocery store. The only other option is to take the dinghy to the ramshackled government dock and walk about 1/2 mile to the grocery store. Not bad until you have to go back carrying all of your groceries! So, we shared a "conch snack" at the White Orchid. The closest thing I can compare conch snack to is tempura squid. Stringy, rubbery stuff inside of a fluffy deep fried batter. The fluffy deep fried batter makes it all taste good - actually, it is our favorite way to eat conch. And a Bahamian beer, of course. Lovely setting for lunch!
Later we met new friends on 2 boats - had a pot luck dinner on one of the boats that evening. Very nice! They are both from the Chesapeake, so maybe we can catch up with them there, also.
Listening to the weather very critically, we decided to leave the next day to head for Spanish Wells. (we are there) The forecast was for mild winds on Sunday, slightly heavier winds Mon - Wed, and howling winds late in the week. We wanted to be someplace comfortable. Off we left on Sunday to start our trip up the sound to northern Eleuthera. The wind decided to howl on Sunday also, but we toughed out the heeling boat and zipped close hauled into the wind for 7 hours in winds up to 19 knots to our destination, Rainbow Cay. Our end point was a small cove that gave us shelter from the relentless easterly winds. And it did. Beautiful little spot, complete with a beach and small park. It was a peaceful night.
Today we made our goal, Spanish Wells. The winds and our direction worked for a much better trip. One small catastrophe - one of my Bahamian scarves that we use for shade. Seems it had a run-in with jib sheet, the line that controls our jib sail. The line won. We had to cut the fabric away from the line and its turning block, ending up with a nice bite taken out of one end.
Sheltered places are important - and popular! - to sailors. We knew the safety of Spanish Wells would make it crowded, so we called and reserved a mooring here. Luke deftly maneuvered Latitudes through the narrow and shallow western entrance to the harbor, past the bright small buildings that line the water, along with the local fishing boats, also in to weather out the winds.
No sooner had we nabbed our mooring ball, than we saw the big fast ferry from Harbour Town steaming through the narrow eastern channel. Look carefully - you'll see wooden stakes marking the edge of the channel.
Here is the Bo Hengy ferry from her side.
Oh, and on a mooring near us is the sailing trimaran, V, a charter boat. Check her out on http://www.tropicalyachts.com/bahamas-yacht-charter/neel_45_db/vacations.php
Tomorrow we'll shop a little (maybe a new scarf??) and wander the town. We will have plenty of time to visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment